


To Soothe The Soul

by Halfway_To_Reality



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Male Slash, Post-Hogwarts, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:49:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4034089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfway_To_Reality/pseuds/Halfway_To_Reality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Against the expectations of many, harry potter decides to become a Healer instead of a Auror. He throws himself into his work to ignore his grief. When he and George weasely decide to move to America to avoid the world that holds too many bad memories, the last thing they were expecting was to run into Tony stark. How long before the Potter-luck takes hold?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: New Begginings

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harry Potter or The Avengers

_Blackness. So dark it was overwhelming._

_An empty abyss that seemed to squirm into the very sky. A horror that ate anything else around it, burning away its very existence. And I was headed straight for it._

_I couldn't turn away. I couldn't move, but I could talk._

_"Jarvis" I called out, panic seeping from the empty space around me into my voice. "Jarvis, pull all power from thrusters"_

_"I can't do that sir" the voice of my AI seemed to echo around the hollow of my helmet. When did it get so big in here?_

_"Jarvis I need you to pull all power from the main thrusters now!" I knew it was no use. It never was any use, but that didn't help the panic._

_"I'm afraid that's not possible sir. You gave me a strict orders." The black was coming closer. It was swallowing me._ _**I can't get away!** _

_It was on me._

_A coal mouth swallowed me down into emptiness. There was absolutely nothing. Nothing but the chill. A cold that seemed to drag itself from the darkest corners of you memory, oozing out of childhood nightmares and slinked from adult paranoia. It dug its way through my armor. Chipping away at the last layer before my skin without a single sound. Like a snake sliding through grass while it's eyes focused single mindedly. Never leaving its prey._

_The last of my suit flew away and the chill feasted on the only thing in this darkness.._

**Me**

* * *

Tony would have snapped up from the couch where he had previously been resting. Springing to his feet the same way our ancestors must have when a predator nearby. He may have even called his armor to him, just by muscle memory alone.

He might have done any of those things, If it weren't for the cocoon of blankets he had effectively sleep-wrapped himself in.

Instead he only managed to jerk himself an inch and a half of above the couch, before promptly kicking out against his binds and falling to the floor of his lab. He raised his head disoriented before a chirp brought his wandering attention to the bot beside the couch.

Are you alright sir?

"Hmm" Tony's brain was still caught in the nightmare. "Jarvis where am I?"

You are currently in the lab of Stark Tower sir

"Stark Tower?" Tony muttered whilst twisting his arms free of the throw.

The first few nights he had the nightmare he would wake up with so much adrenalin in his bloodstream he would literally fly off the bed dragging all his bedding behind him. though after consistently waking Pepper every night for a week and a half he had given up any thought of getting a normal rest. Instead he would work in his lab late into the night, usually even the morning before his body would be almost at the point of collapse. He would allow his anxiously whirring and clicking bots to drag him to the couch before falling into a nightmare plagued sleep for a few hours.

Now not even the adrenalin of his nightmares could completely wake Tony up. There was just wasn't enough energy in his body. Finally working his arms free of the throw and starting on detangling the rest of him he barked out.

"Time Jarvis. mhph. What's the time?" the end of his call fizzing out to a murmur.

It is currently 3:52. Should I order breakfast sir?

_'almost two hours of sleep'_ it was better than his last try

Tossing the throw back over the couch unfolded, Tony clawed his way to his feet. Staggered slightly before catching himself on the bot which hadn't moved since it chipped at him. Dum-E and U had were still back in his house in Malibu so this bot had yet to be named.

sir I would advise you lay back down. You are in no state to be walking let alone working.

"I just need coffee Jarvis. Get some running will you" Tony said still leaning against the un-named bot heavily.

I'm afraid that's not possible sir. Tony froze his nightmare dashing threw his skull like a taunt from a bully. We ran out of coffee earlier last night. You have been drinking so much of it lately that I haven't been able to restock quickly enough.

Tony turned his head so his face rested against the cold metal of the bot before grumbling under his breath about stupid statistics and reprogramming.

What was that sir. I can't pick up what you're saying

"I said I'll just have to go out and buy some then!" Tony growled another straw breaking in his mind before his straightened as much as he could and stumbled to the elevator doors.

* * *

All in all he did manage to make it surprisingly far before his legs finally gave out on him. As fate would have it he managed to hold out just long enough to fall into another who was out much to late, or early depending on your view point.

"whoa mate, you alright there?" asked the man, or woman Tony couldn't really tell his vision had started to blur about 3 blocks from the tower. "Mate, hey are you okay? Look at me!" the persons voice was definitely more worried now but Tony couldn't seem to gather enough energy to lift his weight let alone his head. "Bullocks, and here I thought I'd have a decent vacation" Tony felt one of the persons arms slide from where it was holding him up to grip at the back of his knees before his lost contact with the floor. The man, cause anyone strong enough to carry Tony bridal style had better be male, pulled Tony's upper body till his head rested against his shoulder.

Feeling the man start to walk Tony gave up on keeping his eyes open and settled for listening to the mans heartbeat. It was a strong beat. Almost keeping pace with the subtle jolts he felt each time the man stepped towards there destination. He really should be more worried about that but he couldn't seem to bring himself to. This person felt safe. Safe and warm and he smelt of pine and sulfur and just slightly of flowers.

_'please let this person not be a girl'_ Tony found himself wishing for the second time that day. If he was being carried by a girl he doubted there would be anyway for him to live it down to himself let alone his team when they found out.

He hadn't told them about the nightmares yet. But he suspected that they were starting to guess. He had thought the first to catch on would be Natasha, with all her super-spy training. But instead it was Rogers who had been looking at him with a slight understanding in his eye that set Tony off. Steve still Hadn't visited since that last blow up. Bruce had followed right behind Steve. though his was much subtler in his discovery. Instead of seeking him out to try and talk things out, he had come to work with Tony more often in Tony's lab instead of the one set up for him across the hall. When he realized what Bruce was up to he had pretty much banned him from his lab. Changing Bruce's pass-codes to only work in dire situations.

He bet that part of the reason why neither Clint or Natasha had caught on yet was because they were constantly being called on for missions by SHEILD. Whether it be clean up to assassinations they seemed to be being called on more than before. Tony assumed that this was under the orders of the council, though he couldn't exactly think what they would gain in his current condition.

His current condition. He didn't want to refer to it as what it was, so instead he settled for calling it his condition. The fact was he was scared. Scared that if he admitted he was anything but the hero people were looking to him as he would no longer be to stand. He was scared of letting people in, and though he trusted his team to an extent he didn't trust them with this. Because with this they would have his weakness. They would have a way to control him, even though right now he didn't really have much control himself. In fact he had no control considering the fact he was being carried somewhere by an unknown man who could have any kind of intentions toward him. No matter how nice he smelt.

Suddenly the man stopped the hand that been gripping the under side of Tony's knees let go, leaving the weight of his legs to rest on his arm. The man's wrist twisted under him, Tony belatedly realizing he was probably turning a doorknob, and he heard a small chime of a bell.

"Harry!" the man called out "Harry come quick!" Tony groaned as he was slide away rom the warm chest and comforting heartbeat of the man to lye on something soft. Hands gently smoothed out his clothes that had bunched under him before smoothing his hair from his grimy forehead. He hadn't realized he was so dirty.

' _but I guess that's what working for days in the lab without cleaning himself properly would do'_

The last thing he heard before darkness claimed him was someone calling out questionably for a 'George'.

_'Thank god it wasn't a girl'..._

* * *

There were many things Harry had been expecting when he heard George's panicked voice call for him from the bottom of his apartment stairs was the sight he saw now.

Tony stark or Iron Man as many called him passed out on the couch in his quaint little café was not one of them...

Okay maybe it was but it was really far down on his list. So understandably he was shocked still for a second, a short one mind you, before his healer training kicked in and he rushed back up the stairs to grab his medical kit. He always had one handy. The war had made him slightly paranoid but the fact that once his plans to become a Medi-wizard were announced to the public and aurora's started showing up at his doorstep after being hurt on a mission effected him more.

It had saddened and disappointed him that people had though that after all his time fighting in the war he would want to become an Auror and fight EVEN MORE. He didn't lose his 'saving-people-thing' as Hermione called it. Not in the least. In fact it seemed to get stronger after the war. No longer were casualties something to be expected or deaths allowed. Once Harry had started his training he had put his everything into helping every person to come his way. It was that urge that stopped him from remaking Grimauld place un-plottable, no matter how tired he was from Auroras dropping by nearly on deaths door. It was that force and pure stubbornness that had him working overtime at St. Mungo's night after night, and even when the hospital wouldn't let him work any more hours he would stay up for as long as he could studying for his Medi-wizard certification. Especially Potions. It was that same stubbornness that had saved many lives as a medi-wizard when, even when any other medic would have given up, he plowed on refusing to let his patient die. A fact that endeared him to many magical creatures as he didn't tend to differentiate between patients.

And so, just as the Boy-Who-Lived became The-Man-Who-Conquered, The-Man-Who-Conquered became the Healer-Who-Saved or whatever ridiculous moniker they had given him. Five years after the war it had finally hit him. He had been struggling so long not to think about the war by throwing himself into his work that when one day he looked up from his work and saw Fred Weasely instead of some random patient he almost crumpled then and there. He managed to finish healing the minor laceration on the teen's leg before walking quickly from the room and calling in another healer to finish for him and taking a rather abrupt vacation.

He had sat alone in Grimauld place for almost a month before he thought to contact George. George who had, understandably enough been pulling the same stunt with his work at the joke shop. When George arrived it had taken very little time for the two of them to crack open a bottle of fire-whiskey and drink it to the bottom, and another. By the time they were halfway through their third bottle they were both crying and hugging each other. Throughout the next twelve days they moped around, and mourned their lost friends and family together for another week before Harry w's contacted by St. Mungo's saying that he was at the end of his paid leave. It was the only time in Harry's memory were he resented his job.

It was that morning when George had been flipping through some old photo albums of Harry's from just before the war had really kicked up, and Harry himself was cleaning himself up and preparing himself for what could only be a day of hard work and stubbornness when he heard a clatter and a gasp from the room George occupied. Harry had rushed into the room new instincts and old had him reaching for his wand, but the look on George's face as his gaze traveled back and forth from the album to Harry froze him.

That was when they realized Harry had stopped aging. He looked the same as he had looked right before the battle of Hogwarts. The stress of his life on the run had aged Harry's face enough that he could pass for 21, maybe even his actual age of 23 if he pushed the baby face story. The fact remained the same, he wasn't aging, and at some point with his still near constant appearances in the media it was going to be noticed. Especially since Rita Skeeter had yet to abandon her personal vendetta to share his personal life with the world.

It took George another year and a half to convince Harry to leave magical Britain with him, and another 9 months for them to settle on a new home. The fact that really solidified their plans was the news of aliens attacking New York. Strange though it may be they thought that if the wizarding government in America was willing to allow an alien invasion and supposed superheroes on the news(especially since it was muggle news) they were pretty sure they wouldn't do anything against him when they realized he didn't age. Besides the magical communities in America tended to be in cities well populated with muggles and therefore had much more diverse culture, and as Harry pointed out, less magical news. Along with the recent word of mutants, muggles who were born with a, usually singular, ability of some form, any magic caught by either muggle or magical could be played off as a mutant ability therefore destroying any claim either community would have on Harry in their new life. Especially since they were panning on changing their names. They didn't know how famous Harry was and they didn't want to be found by any reporters. So George became George Weston and Harry became Harrison Wells.

At first it had all gone okay. Harry had gotten a job at the local muggle hospital and George had opened a new joke shop that catered to both muggles and magicals. Though it wasn't very popular. But eventually the stress of the emergency room started to get to Harry, and work that had built up because the damage to the city dwindled. In the end Harry decided to leave the hospital before he got laid off and had wandered the city looking for work. He had been sitting in their shared apartment contemplating there potions stock and how much he sucked at brewing when an idea hit him.

While Harry was pants at potions he had learned during his apprenticeship that he wasn't as bad as he thought. In fact he was actually decent at following the instructions and could get okay results if it wasn't for his natural reaction of pouring too much magic into his potions while brewing. While for a potion to reach its top potency the brewer needs to put some magic into the potion during the brewing process, pouring into too much magic as Harry tended to do would cause the ingredients to release their own natural magic into the potion. Depending on the ingredients used for the potion this could end into violent, and often times explosive results.

While this skill had hampered Harry ability to brew potions it had opened up a new possibility of using the raw magic of ingredients to add magical properties to normal foods. Something he had discovered by accident one day while helping molly Weasly cook.

This seemingly inconsequential quirk of him had come to his mind while he was contemplating whether or not he should risk brewing the skelegrow himself when his crazy thought manifested.

It started with him altering a few simply recipes to use small amounts of magical ingredients without altering the flavor too much. Then he would test them by selling them as a street vendor in parks or farmers markets. Once he felt he had enough recipes he had bought a small but cozy corner store, and set about making his café.

That was around a year ago. Now he was dashing about his apartment above said café looking for that blasted medical kit because Tony Stark was IN HIS CAFE **PASSED OUT ON THE COUCH!**

_'Curse my stupid trouble magnet!'_ finally finding his bag stuffed somewhat awkwardly under a pile of textbooks on chemical gastronomy, one of Harry's new fascinations, Harry grabbed and half tumbled half slid down the stairs. Returning to George's side next to the couch Harry waved his hand over Tony's body for a medical scan as he didn't have his wand in hand.

Vaguely noting George slipping into one of the large stuffed chairs nearby allowing Harry room to work he waited for the results to appear in his palm. When they did appear quite quickly he snatched them out of the air and with practiced ease read through the results. His shoulders relaxing the farther down the short page he got.

"He's alright. Just sleep deprived" Harry said "really sleep derived. In fact if he wakes up before sleeping for at least twelve hours I honestly don't know what I'll do" _'what could have caused him to loose so much sleep? Even George isn't this bad when he gets an idea at night so unless Tony stark is more eccentric than George something is keeping him awake'._

Thinking back on the time right after the war where nightmares would jolt Harry from sleep every few hours Harry cast a quick mental health charm. Though not one of the more invasive ones used by mind healers. Harry never had been able to stomach those, they reminded him to closely of Voldemort's attempts to penetrate his mind, and the subsequent pain that came with it.

The charms results were more revealing to Harry than they would have been to most other healers. Mostly because he had been through this same thing himself.

With an queried eyebrow that could contest with Snape's Harry noted _'It seemed that Mr. stark is suffering from PTSD.'_

Turning to George Harry gave quick orders to carry Tony upstairs and settle him in the guest bedroom. Harry followed them to the top of the stairs before turning into his room to grab a pair of pajamas to change Tony into. As Tony's current clothing state was more than enough to send Harry's healer trained mind into Hermione worthy speeches on health codes.

Entering the guest room Harry calmed those urges by vanishing Tony's current clothing before cleaning him with a wandless _Evanesco_ and changing into the clean set of pajamas. Harry then pulled a quarter dosage of dreamless sleep from his medical kit, spelled it into Tony's system, and pulled the covers over Tony's silent form.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I don't own Avengers or Harry Potter!**

**I still don't have a beta so please notify me if you see any words or grammar that don't make sense.**

* * *

When Tony woke up he was shocked. Not because he didn't know where he was, though that did come to mind later, but because he didn't wake up gasping for air the nightmare-portal didn't have. He also realized with a huff, that he actually felt well rested.

He didn't recognize the room was in, though that wasn't a new experience for him. The fact the he was wearing a new set of pajamas was. Looking around the room he saw that it was simply furnished. The colors a light blend of shimmering light gray, muted meadow greens, and highlighted by misty blues. Along with the mural painted on the ceiling he vaguely felt as if he was outside.

In his perusal of his surroundings Tony noticed a bundle of cloth on the bedside table next to a cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste inside.

The generosity of his mystery host astounded him to stillness for a moment. He sat, in a bed, in new pajamas, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and the person who supplied these things hadn't appeared to ask for anything in return. Huh...

Mentally slapping himself Tony reminded himself of Obadiah, and how even those who seem thoughtful have ulterior motives. He stood from the bed and grabbed the cup. Heading to the first door he saw he yanked it open and stomped in.

It was a closet. A small closet.

a small **Dark** closet.

_A dark empty abyss that seemed to squirm into the very sky itself. A horror that ate anything else around it. Burning away its very existence. And I was headed straight for it._

Tony scrambled backwards out of the room, barely noticing he was on hands and knees.

His blood pumped through his veins. His breathing sped until there was no still air in his lungs.

_A darkness that ate everything in it's path..._

He vaguely heard the door slam open and someone curse under their breath.

_A coal mouth opened its maw wider and wider. Its spiked teeth drawing closer to him..._

Hands gently griped his shoulders trying to turn his body to face them, but all he could see was the closet. The dark that was slowly etching its way closer to him. His subconscious noted that the person was calling his name, but he didn't answer.

_The black. The cold never ending black..._

The hands were shaking him now.

_The dark hell that would always torment him. It grinned almost upon him when..._

Light. someone had turned on the lights.

Tony blinked.

Someone sighed close to Tony's ear, startling him into movement. Not that he could see very far since he was practically on top of the person.

"You gonna be alright now mate?" said the man standing by the closet. He was dressed in similar pajamas to the ones Tony was wearing minus the top, and was breathing heavily. The kind of heavy breathing one gets when startled. He also seemed vaguely familiar.

"You're ok now." Said the one holding him as they started rocking him back and forth "you're ok." Tony felt his panicked breathing settle. Slowing down till it almost matched the slow rocking of the person holding him. They smelt nice. Like soap and pine, with hints of cinnamon and coffee. _'I hope this is a guy it would be so embarrassing if it was a girl.'_ Tony jumped up from where he had been leaning on the persons side. Before he could stop it the thought was through his brain and out of his mouth.

"You're the guy from yesterday! The one who smelt like flowers!" he pointed accusingly at the ginger leaning across the closet doorframe. His sudden movement started both strangers.

Silence.

Tony could feel a blush creeping its way up his neck but he forced it down. He had lots of practice dealing with award situations. Especially ones he made by not filtering his thoughts. Though pepper was usually here to take care of the aftermath.

"Pffft" Tony's attention snapped back to the man in front of him. The man who now had a hand across his mouth and seemed to be trying his hardest not to laugh. He definitely wasn't very good at it. The man seemed to burst at the seams, laughing ridiculously loud before falling to the floor holding his sides.

The man holding him sighed again, though this time with a smile on his lips. He turned to Tony and smiled. "ignore him, he just has an insatiable sense of humor. Were you looking for the bathroom? I noticed you dropped the toothbrush I left for you." The man said holding up the toothbrush and paste. Before Tony could nod or express anything at all the man placed his arms around Tony's waist, lifting him gently from his half-curled position on the floor.

He pointed to a door opposite the one the two men had come from. "the bathroom is through that door. When you're done change into the clothes I left for you and come downstairs. I'll have some breakfast waiting for you." He placed the cup in Tony's hand before giving him a slight nudge towards the door. The man then grabbed the arms of the ginger before dragging him from the room.

Tony stared at the door they had left through for exactly seven seconds before shaking his head. Then, taking the toothpaste and clothes, headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

* * *

"What were you thinking!" Harry whisper-yelled at the still laughing George. George just laughed harder. "he just had a panic attack of course he would say something like that! That doesn't mean you get to laugh at him for it! Do I laugh when _you_ say something stupid after a nightmare? No! I don't!" by this time George was rolling on the floor, red faced, and it was obvious he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Harry glared at him. "Oh for Merlin's sake. I'm going to go make breakfast. You tell me when he comes out."

Harry stormed from the room leaving the still hysteric George to pick himself from the floor himself. _'if he thinks he is getting any muffins in the next week...'_

He headed downstairs into the kitchen of his small café. This was where the magic happened. Literally.

Taking a moment to breathe in the leftover scent of flour and fresh baked goods Harry set to work making the days batch of confections. Soon bowls were floating with various mixtures churning away inside them. Chocolate chip cookies with essence of phoenix song for the downhearted, coffee scones with tentacula seeds for vigor, blueberry muffins with moly petals to help give those with conflicting emotions the calm needed to sort through them, etc.

Harry was just putting another batch of cream cheese brownies in the oven when the muggle warning wards he had placed around his kitchen went off. Directing the few bowls still floating to rest on the surfaces around him Harry grabbed a platter of blueberry muffins and a small bowl of fruit salad before backing out of the kitchen. When he turned he saw George leading Tony to one of the tables near the café window.

"I hope you like blueberry muffins" Harry said to Tony as he placed his wares on the table. Tony, eyes wide, dove at the muffins. Practically stuffing a whole one in his mouth he moaned. "I'll... take that as a yes" Harry said his voice laced with amusement. He turned to George who was stuffing his face in a way very akin to Ron and asked "George would you like some tea to help you wash all that down a the endless cavern you call your mouth?" George nodded his head knowing Harry's hate of bad table manners. A side effect of his years with the Dursly's. How he had put up with Ron's eating habits for all those years was a miracle.

"Animals eat outside George. People answer with words." Was all Harry said, but if you knew him well enough you would hear a smile breaking through his mothering tone.

Still a bit worried about Tony's health, Harry didn't bother to ask him if he wanted a drink. He had already started a smoothy for the man. One that may or may not have some magical ingredients.

As the kitchen doors swung shut behind Harry Tony took some time to look around the café. It was small, much smaller than any place he usually visited. There were four tables situated by the store front window and six more towards a small fireplace along the back wall. The door was a tiny single glass pane that was positioned to be directly in front of the display case. That too was small, and unlike larger cafés Tony had been to this one didn't have any coffee machines behind the counter. It seemed everything in the café was made in the kitchen situated behind the two gray doors. Directly to the left of the kitchen doors was the staircase leading up the apartment Tony had just come from.

Grabbing another muffin Tony leaned back in his chair. It was more comfortable than it looked. Another thing Tony had noticed was that all the chairs were older cushioned chairs whose color ranged from an obnoxious yellow to faded grass green. There even a hot rod red one which was almost the same color as his suit. The chairs ranged in height and width, some of them big enough to hold two people. But even though none of them matched it only added to the homey sense given off by the whole café.

The most interesting thing by far was the ceiling. It was a fantastically realistic mural of a foreign sky. Around the edges you could see the tops of trees that were stopped a foot down the walls by an illusion of another wall. On the left side you could faintly see a moon that was tinted a pale orange, and on the right birds with feathers that faded from red to green to blue soared over the checkout line.

It was beautiful. He might have to ask who had painted it so he could get one at the tower. Tony bit into his third muffin. He would also have to ask for a large box of these muffins to take with him. Maybe even a repeat order. I wonder if they deliver...

Tony was broken out of his musings by a small cough. He turned to the man who had carried him. Seeing his amused expression Tony raised an eyebrow. A motion that George was familiar with after seeing Harry do it all the time to silently demand answers.

"Sorry you just remind me of someone. He had the same look on his face when he saw this place"

"Really? I was so sure that all the looks I made were original. My smirk is practically patented. In fact that's a good idea. I'll do that when I get home" Tony blew out in a single breath.

George blinked once, then guffawed. Almost choking on the bite of pineapple in his mouth.

"Oh my god you are just like him! Do you happen to have any relatives with white blond hair, upturned noses, who do remarkable impersonations of weasels?" George barely managed to force out amongst his laughter. Though saying that just made him laugh harder.

"I don't think I have any relatives that match that description." Tony said warily. He watched as the ginger man's face colored until it matched the bright hue of his hair. The man across from him didn't seem to be breathing in between loud sets of laughter. That thought reminded him that he didn't know either of his hosts names.

 _'why should you bother? They are probably just after a reward'_ said a part of his conscious that had developed after Obadiah's betrayal. _'they could even be kidnappers for all you know'_

 _'if they are a potential threat then learning their names is a priority'_ said a voice that sounded suspiciously similar to Natasha. Wow, he had an internal Natasha. Since when did he hang around her long enough to developed an internal version of her? An internal Bruce he would understand, and internal Clint he would welcome. The quips would keep him amused. He would even have expected an internal caprice, but an internal Natasha. Just... wow.

Tony was again broken out of his mental ramblings by one of his hosts. Though this time it was because a thin glass being placed in front of him. It was a strange swirl of light red, a bit too close to pink for Tony's esthetics to approve, and an electric green.

"I don't mean to say that I doubt you guys' judgment or anything, but you wouldn't happen to be the kind of people who would heal a guys just to poison him would you?" Tony asked as his gaze flicked between his hosts slash potential kidnappers.

 _'even if a café isn't an opportune place to keep a hostage never make assumptions.'_ said internal Natasha. Geez, even in his head she sounded stiff.

"I would hope not. Seeing as that drink is one of my more popular smoothies it would be a huge blunder on my part if I was poisoning my customers. You out of everyone should be able to imagine the lawsuits?" said the raven headed man, an amused smile pulling at his lips. "of course if you would prefer a different drink I could make you one. Maybe a coffee?" Tony cringed at that, no matter how much he loved the drink he didn't think coffee would be good for his health at the moment. No matter his reckless tendencies even he wasn't that bad.

"No, this will be fine" he said snatching the cup from the table top. Preparing himself for the nasty taste he had come to associate with smoothies after his palladium poisoning Tony was shocked at the flavor that burst across his tongue. It was a pleasant mix of strawberry, banana, with a hint of mint. It swirled across his taste buds with the same electricity as it's coloring, before sliding down his throat. It left behind a cool calming wisp of taste in his mouth, and Tony could feel the sensation spreading from his abdomen through his body. Calming and soothing his muscles as it went.

Releasing a huge sigh he didn't even know he had gathered Tony smiled. He felt different. Not strange different, or I-just-got-drugged different, but calm. Like he didn't have to rush through anything. It was nice. ever since he was small he had always been running after things. Whether it be his fathers approval when he was a kid, to his own hyper speed thoughts as he grew up. This feeling that he could just wait and move at his own pace was new to him. He liked it... a lot.

Tony looked at his hosts who were both smiling at him with a knowing look in their eyes.

"this is really good. I don't suppose I could get the recipe?" the raven haired man laughed for the first time since Tony had seen him while the ginger burst straight into loud guffaws again.

"hah. Good luck with that mate. It took my mum five years to drag his muffin recipe out of him, and she still can't make it right! You're better off just asking him for a cooler full" the ginger said.

"George stop being rude. You know that molly is a wonderful cook." The raven replied throwing a small cookie at his companion. "I apologize for him. He tends to think everything is a joke. Though he is right about the recipe. Sorry, but I can't just go giving it out to anyone or I'd be out of business before you could say pigmy puff."

"I didn't peg you as a George" said Tony "you look like more of a Finn or maybe Finnegan?" this sent 'George' into another round of laughter while the ravens eyes widened.

"Oh we never introduced ourselves did we! Where _are_ my manners. My name is Harrison Wells, but you can call me harry. This idiots, as you already heard, is George Weston. George here found you almost dead on the street and brought you here. And before you ask I am the one who treated you, as I am a fully trained doctor. You won't be needing to pay any medicals bills." Harry's face turned more serious as he said "how did you manage to get in such a state, if you don't mind me asking"

Now it was Tony's turn to look serious. "I actually do mind. Sorry" he didn't know why he was apologizing. The fact that he _was_ apologizing was a feat in itself.

"that's alright I can understand wanting to keep a secret." Harry waved the miracle apology off. "do you want to call someone? You have been unconscious for almost twenty two hours. We have a phone you could use to call anyone you need to." Harry left the end off the sentence hanging. Twenty two hours was a long time. Not as long as some of Tony's misadventures, but still towards the longer end. He should probably call Pepper, but then she would yell at him. She had been getting testier and testier since the whole 'aliens in new York' adventure. Maybe he would just call Jarvis. Yeah Jarvis seemed like the better option.

"that would be great harry. Where is the phone?" Tony asked. Before he left he quickly drained his cup, then headed to the kitchen door where Harry had pointed.

"it's on the left wall right next to the door." Harry called after him. Tony waved over his shoulder to show he had heard before letting the doors swing closed after him. Tony hoped whatever that juice had done to him would last, because Jarvis would probably redirect his call directly to Pepper.

* * *

Harry quickly skimmed through the results of the health scanned he had preformed on Tony while he was walking from the room. He didn't know how long Tony's phone call would last and would like to know what ends of foods he should give Tony to go.

"How is he?" George asked leaning over Harry's shoulder trying to keep up with his quick reading.

"He is much better. Though if the episode he had upstairs is anything to go by I was right in my previous diagnoses of PTSD. The dark seems to be his trigger or at least one of them"

"What so he's just scared of the dark?" George huffed around a bite of muffin.

"Chew then speak, but yes in a sense. Though much stronger than what you're thinking. One doesn't just wale up one morning with and say 'oh hey I have PTSD now'. You get the condition by experiencing something awful. Like falling from a great height or fighting in a war" Harry said giving George a pointed look. At this George looked down. His usual obnoxious humor gone, and nodded. Harry returned the results to one of the hidden endless pockets in his apron just as Tony returned from his call.

"My driver will be picking me up in a few. Thanks for everything you've done. How much do I owe you?" Tony said fiddling with the hem of his shirt. A habit he thought he had stopped years ago(though he really just replaced it by fiddling with his sunglasses). Besides who could blame him, this shirt was really soft.

"You don't owe us anything" Harry said surprised. "we didn't _do_ anything for you to owe us"

Tony had guessed that that would be their answer but it still surprised him. So instead of replying he simply nodded, feeling very much like Bruce in that moment. Not quite knowing what to say in an awkward situation.

Seeing happy drive up in front of the café Tony nodded to the two men again and headed for the door. He made it four feet to the door before he was stopped by a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Wait! Here take these." Harry said placing a small paper bag of muffins in Tony's hand "You looked like you enjoyed them"

Tony smiled and nodded again. Whatever effect the drink from earlier had on him had almost warn off completely, leaving Tony slightly distracted by the thoughts once again whipping through his mind. Turning back to the door he walked out of the café and back into his hectic life.

Harry and George watched him go with knowing smiles. Harry was the first to turn away.

"Well that went well" George said still gazing after the car. When it finally turned out of sight George swirled in place and asked Harry's turned back "I bet you 9 galleons he'll be back within the week."

* * *

**A/N thank you for reading my second chapter!**

**I hope you are enjoying reading my story as much I enjoy writing it.**

**Please point out any spelling, grammar, or name mistakes you see. I have trouble spotting them myself and I don't have a beta yet.**

**To answer some questions posed in comments;**

**Teddy will be making an appearance later in the story.**

**I will be attempting to update weekly.**


	3. Chapter 3: Dazed First Impressions

**A/N I own nothing. As in nada. Zilch. Nothing.**

**I found a Beta yippee!**

**Sorry it took so long to update. I know I said I would update weekly but I managed to catch a cold that was going around and ended up sleeping for a week.**

**Its so Hot summer is already here! I don't know about you guys but were I am its 84 degrees Fahrenheit. I've already eaten twelve popsicles!**

**Don't melt and enjoy!**

Writing ~text

Writing~ Jarvis

 _Writing_ ~ dreams

_'Writing' ~ thoughts, writing, etc..._

* * *

As it turned out Tony became a regular at _Bites & Brews_ and George was nine galleons richer. Tony didn't make it make it back to the café for three days thanks to the house arrest Pepper had put him under. Unintentionally adding more strain to her and Tony's relationship. Using a daring technique that included whipped cream, a rubber band, and a butter knife Tony managed to sneak out to visit Harry and George on the fourth day. Though if you asked him Tony would say it was just wrangle the recipe for those muffins out of Harry. He had stayed there for a few hours just talking with the pair, though mostly George because of Harry's constant need to serve new customers.

Of course when he had found out about George's profession he couldn't exactly just leave. Especially after seeing how medieval the techniques George's pranks used. After Tony and George's fourth explosion Harry had kicked them both out of the café and told them to 'not come back till you've got all your bloody sillys out'.

It didn't take Tony long to noticed how each of Harry's recipes seemed to effect people. It wouldn't have seemed to strange to him, after all good food can do things to a person, what was strange was how each recipe had there own effect. He had even started a food log to graph the effects. Coffee cookies that sent energy through your system like no other, home-made teas that could lift dampened spirits, even if it was pouring rain and your cat had just been run over. No actually that happened once and Tony still had trouble believing Harry didn't add something to his products. Harry didn't, Tony had Jarvis check. Even with no 'Secret' ingredient no matter how he was feeling eating one of those muffins seemed to calm him down. Not like getting high calm, but only just enough to look at things rationally. Seeing how none of Harry's recipes forced people into submission or made them act noticeably different Tony didn't mention anything. Though he had a feeling that harry and George knew he knew. _'They were probably amused by it.'_

But seriously he needed to get the recipe for those muffins. The ones Jarvis had reproduced just weren't the same. And when they were fresh out of the oven... just... yum.

He could actually use some more. He had eaten all of the ones he brought home from his last visit.

Maybe he should go get some. Like right now.

Not for him of course but for Bruce.

 _'yeah I mean just look at him. He is totally too stressed out. I can practically see the green already'_ Tony was currently in his lab with Bruce working to identify an unknown substance one of SHIELD's agents had found somewhere. Well south west Guam, but Tony wasn't supposed to know that.

It just goes to show how deeply Bruce was focused into his work that he didn't even look up as Tony burst from his seat and stalked in his direction. However Bruce did notice when Tony grabbed his arm and started dragging him across the room in his chair. Good thing said chair had wheels.

"Wha... Tony what are you doing?"

"I'm taking you out to tea. You like tea right? Of course you do you drink it all the time. Bligh nasty stuff I prefer coffee much better and it keeps you awake much longer you know. there's this place I know that makes the most delicious coffee. Their tea isn't too bad either, for you know, tea. So that's where we're going. Do you have your coat?" Bruce just stared at the man for a few seconds to replay what he had said in his mind. It was actually an impressively short translation time. All the other avengers took at least 30 seconds to translate Tony speak while the captain... well he just didn't understand Tony speak.

"Tony we have work to do. We are almost done and I have perfectly good tea here at the tower anyway." Bruce tried to convince Tony dragging his feet to slow the progression of his desk chair.

"Ah but not this tea. I did just say it was good for a tea right? Cause it is. And I hate tea, and that I know you know. I tell you all the time." Tony turned his head to look at Bruce with one of his now patented smirks "I can promise you this tea is nothing like any other you've ever had". At this Bruce rolled his eyes. As much as he would like to argue Tony out of this Bruce knew he probably wouldn't stand a chance. Besides Pepper, Steve, and Natasha were both out of house so he wouldn't have back up. Drawing in a big breathe Bruce held I for a count of 8 before releasing it in a long drawn out sigh.

"Fine just let me grab my coat will you. Pepper said it would be windy out today."

* * *

In truth Pepper had said it would be rainy out today with enough wind to give her an 'issue'. It was also windy enough that depending which direction you were walking, the buildings would block any rain. This was why when Tony insisted they walk to his favorite coffee shop Bruce agreed with little resistance. This attitude lasted for the five blocks they walked before turning a corner, and walking directly toward the rain. Head on. Without a raincoat.

He. Was. Soaked.

"Tony" Bruce gritted out through almost blue lips "we better be close or I swear to god I will kill you". If there was one thing Bruce had learned in his travels before the avengers, it was that being cold and wet was never a good idea.

"oh don't be such a whiner baby its right there." Tony answered with un-natural exuberance. He gestured vaguely in front of them with his right hand. The weather had gotten to him too. But he would wear the Capsicle's uniform before he said so.

Luck was in their favor that Harry's café truly was right in front of them. It was good planning on Harry's part that had Bruce and Tony wrapped in warm fluffy towels the moment they stepped through the door.

Luck abandoned them the moment Harry noticed how soaked the two men were.

"Anthony Edward Stark! _What_ in the five hells are you doing outside in this weather" Harry had immediately stripped them of their coats, shirts, shoes, and socks. He would have taken their pants too but something told him Tony's guest was much more modest a man than Tony, and that being exposed as he already was would be embarrassment enough. So he settled for swaddling them in blankets and seating them before the roaring fireplace muttering the whole time in true Molly Weasly fashion.

"Well Harry I didn't know you swung that way. Have you told George yet or are the two of you in on it together" Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Harry suggestively as Harry bustled around the few patrons who had walked into the shop to avoid the rain.

"Yes Tony George does know, and he doesn't care in the slightest. Now what will you too be having to drink? And don't say anything about not having one Tony because if you do I will force feed you my mothers sick-away soup". Tony just blinked. He hadn't actually known Harry swung that way. He hadn't guessed it either. The shock left him momentarily compliant.

"I'll uh just have my usual coffee."

"and for your friend here?" Harry said quirking an eyebrow at Bruce over his notepad. The man _felt_ strange to Harry's magic. He had yet to decide whether it was a good strange or a bad strange.

"I'll just have tea thank you." Said Bruce who was practically cocooned in blankets. Harry had used more blankets on Bruce than Tony, there was just something about the man that made him want to coddle him. Harry nodded and quickly made his way to the kitchen. Leaving a ward cast on the door in case any other soaked souls managed took shelter his café.

"I swear its at times like these he is worse than my mum." George told the two swaddled men as he stared warily at the kitchen door. Back when Harry was working at he always acted strange when he was tasked to the Children's section. At first George would have told you it was because of his treatment at the Dursly's. Now that he knew Harry better he could correctly say that it was the constant cases of sickness that bothered Harry. Split flesh Harry could heal in an instant, broken bones in hours, but sickness took time. It took time of watching a person suffer through symptoms he could only help not heal. Now that Harry was in the muggle world where curing illness took much more time he was even more paranoid.

"don't blame him mate. He's just paranoid 'bout getting sick. Childhood trauma and all that. We try not to talk about it" he took a sip of the chicken broth Harry had forced into his hand. "sometimes though I pretend to be sick just to get him to make this soup. Its truly delicious mate." He took another sip and sighed practically being absorbed by the overstuffed chair next to Tony's.

A few minutes passed of Tony's stare alternating between the kitchen door and George while Bruce smiled dazedly at the two men.

Bruce hadn't felt this relaxed in years. In fact the only time he felt like this was when a college roommate had gotten him to smoke weed. He had only done it once, but that feeling stuck with you. Right now he felt that same mind numbing comfort without the unpleasant burn of smoke through his lungs.

But the weirdest thing of all was he could feel the other guy in the back of his head.

_Purring_

The... thing... he shared a body with. The one who had forced him to hurt so many. Who he had just barely managed to guide during the battle of new York. _Was... Purring._

He could feel this miasma of a kind drifting all around him, drawing him close, and whispering images of comfort, and family, and love to his mind. It felt... unexplainable.

For just this short while he believed he would make it through all of this.

Through life. Through tormented existence he had with the other guy. Through this ridiculous rainstorm.

And the best part was...

He didn't feel as if he had to do it alone.

_'But why?...'_

* * *

Bruce was so enamored with the feeling around him he didn't notice when the sound of clanging bowls and pans started to sound from behind the kitchen doors.

Tony and George on the other hand did.

"He doesn't usually make that much noise in there does he?" Tony questioned.

"No he doesn't" George replied with a worried frown. Usually harry cooked with magical assistance to make sure he didn't bother any patrons. If he was making this much noise he must be cooking the muggle way.

Harry only cooked the muggle way when something was bothering him. Depending on the noise levels George could usually judge how mad Harry was. Which was very useful when they fought. But now it just made George worried. Because if the sound levels were anything to go by, something was _really_ bothering Harry.

"Uh... I'll go check on him," George said as he stood from his chair. Forcing his face into a grin he looked at Tony over his shoulder "maybe he dropped the caramel". Tony promptly burst out laughing. Twelve days previous, Tony and George had rigged the kitchen door with all of the caramel they could find in the café. What Tony didn't know was that as each bottle of caramel was imbued with a different magical property Harry would be unable to clean himself using magic.

Turning so he faced the kitchen door again George hesitated, only for a second, before walking inside. The sight that greeted him was a strange one. Harry sat on the island table with his head in his hands. Bowls of what appeared to be muffin batter laid splattered across the floor.

"Harry," George questioned "mate, are you alright?". Harry didn't move. In fat he was so still George thought he might have been petrified. ever so slowly Harry's shoulders started to shake.

 _'oh shit he's crying. Harry never cries!'_ rushing to Harry's side George enveloped the emotional man in a hug.

"shy it's okay. No need to cry." George did his best to sound soothing while on the inside he was in turmoil. Harry was never the kind of person to cry. The only time he had truly seen harry just let go of his emotions was during their 'grieving period' at Grimauld place. So what could be so bad that to cause Harry to react like this?

A whine broke out from Harry's tightly shut lips as he leaned into George's side. His hand moved from his face to wrap around Georges waist. _'Not. Good'_.

"H harry? Are you feeling okay?" George tentatively asked. He wondered if coming within reaching distance had been a good idea.

It started with a muffled whisper of breath against George's stomach, but steadily grew until Harry was full out rolling on the countertop laughing. All the while he kept one of Georges hands in his own.

George was still a little bit, okay probably a decent bit shocked at the goings on. So instead of breaking up Harry's emotion fest he decided to wait.

And wait... and wait... _and wait_

"HARRY," George yelled after a good seven minutes of waiting "what is it?". Now keep in mind that although George can appreciate a good joke, he also appreciated that they made money by _working_ not laughing. Right now they had customers.

Harry, having lost the capability for speech somewhere along his revels across the table, simply flapped an arm at George. It took a few seconds for George to realize Harry was in fact flapping a letter at him. A letter he snatched quickly...

And promptly joined his friend on the floor laughing.

Now two full grown men laughing and rolling about in a fully stocked kitchen creates, as one would imagine, quite a ruckus.

This was the reason, thirty six seconds later, Tony decided to enter the forbidden room, no matter the warnings Harry had given him to _'stay out of MY KITCHEN'_. Besides what if harry really had dropped the caramel. That would mean no more Chocolate  & Caramel mice, which was a horror Tony refused to live with.

Five minutes later Tony returned to the front of the café looking somewhat gray and with a little too much white around his eyes.

His sat back in the chair Harry had shoved him into earlier, and seeing how Bruce was... uh... indisposed, curled up to take a nap. He jumped up five seconds later to walk around the display case. _'Maybe one muffin first'_ he thought and rapidly grabbed a dozen of Harry's blueberry muffins, before calling happy and getting the fuck out of there. Bruce in tow.

* * *

**A/N so I have to admit this was kind of a filler chapter but it will all make sense once I release chapter four.**

**Hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for reading.**

**Please point out any grammar or spelling mistakes you find in a review. Ideas are welcome along with story prompts.**

**Thanks again for reading and have a nice day!**


	4. Problem?

"Alright that's it. This is the twenty third time you've checked your watch just in this past hour. What the help of going on Bruce?" The man in question jumped at the exuberant exclamation from his lab partner. When Bruce first met Tony such exclamations were common, but seeing how they had met during an alien invasion her had hoped such things were an exception. After having know the man for the six months following the invasion he was'upset' to say he was wrong. Tony was only wise when not fighting source whales. He had called a little during the time he had visited Harry's café, but now, largely due to his recent absence from said shop, the man had regressed to an utter grinch.

 "Bruce are you even listening to me" Tony was admittedly changing pepper here, but seeing how his list of motherly figures consists of his girlfriend and the lady at the Chinese place on fifth street .

"Bruce!"

"yes," Bruce said a little too quickly and the frown on Tony's face grew "I'm sorry , I didn't know I was making you nervous. If I had I would have stored."

" I'm not nervous Bruce I'm worried, and curious and yeah a little irritated, but mostly worried" blue eyes that had wandered away with his thoughts about back to Bruce as Tony continued.

"You're distracted, barely seen to be getting any work done on what, if I might point out, is the first person project I've seen you with since you fixed that heart monitor of yours.i know that you're not sleeping enough, because I'm not either, and then there's this whole checking your watch every six seconds. Something's up and your not sharing." Tony leaves forward in his chair, his elbows moving to test on his knees. The paid chair squeaked with the change in weight.

"You aren't alone here Brucey. You're part of a team now, and we'll have your back, but you need to tell us what's wrong." A sense of importance settled on the room like a blanket, the potential to be warn and comforting was there, but instead it just seemed to smother you in your sleep. a laden sigh breezed out of his lungs, how could he say this. How could say that his control was slipping and the one way he could reinforce only made it worse.

"Tony," was all Bruce managed to get out when the alarm he set on his watch went off with a clamor of buzzes.

Immediately his eyes lit up with an internal grow, his posture straightened as if someone pulled on a wire attached to his spine, and a little color returned to his pallor.

"Sorry Tony but I have to go," he jumped up with unnatural liveliness scattering papers into agitated flight, Tony leaped back startled and smacking into his chair on the way. Bruce, grabbing a coat and practically running to the door, yelled back over his shoulder "we can finish this conversation later".

"Bruce where are you going?" Tony grabbed for his dangerously tipping chair, uncertain if he should his wacked out friend or stay to make sure his project didn't explode in his absence.

"I'm due for a coffee break" Bruce's voice was slightly muffled by the door closing behind him, but Tony heard him all the same.

Silence echoed through the lab after his partners hasty departure. Tony's right hand balancing his precariously tilted chair while his left tightly gripped The designs for... whatever it was Bruce was making. He snorted, unable to believe that actually just happened. What to shy, quirky, never get my heart rate up Bruce. I mean he's still quirky as hell that's for sure but being that enthusiastic over coffee? it's just a bit much.

It didn't make sense, and stuff always made sense to Tony, or at least he could understand why stuff that should make sense didn't.

* * *

**I had a plan for this story but now I seem to have misplaced it. Does anyone have an idea of where this should go?**


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